Oakland Schools superintendent to retire, then get rehired for same job at less pay

In the legislative push to get longtime Michigan educators to step down to save struggling districts money, Oakland Schools Superintendent Vickie Markavitch has become one of the first among what may be hundreds countywide to submit her notice of retirement.

However, the Oakland Schools intermediate district school board convinced Markavitch at an executive session Tuesday night to stay for up to another three years under a new contract that will save the regional district that serves the county's local school systems about $75,000 a year.

So on Wednesday morning, Oakland Schools staff members, top officials of Oakland County's 28 public school districts and the media received notice from Markavitch that she had not only retired, but had already been rehired.

However, Markavitch's decision was not a surprise to board President Ron Storing. She had told him when the Legislature began working on changes to the pension plan that she might retire so as not to lose the benefits she had earned over the years.

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Markavitch, who has been an educator for 44 years in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, said in a letter and a press release that she had no intention of retiring anytime soon -- until the House and Senate approved a change in how the state educator pension works last week. On Wednesday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the bill that is geared to encourage high-paid school teachers and administrators to retire to help reduce local district's budgets.

In part, the bill gives teachers and administrators a financial incentive to give their retirement notice by June 11 and leave teaching by Sept. 1. However, educators such as Markavitch, who want to retire under the existing pension plan, have only until May 28 to make the decision.

"After much thought I have decided that I want to retire under the pension system I know and understand rather than the new one," she said in a letter to the Oakland Schools staff and county superintendents. "For me, the increased multiplier is not worth the yet-to-be-seen impact of the new rules and regs that go with it."

At the same time, Markavitch emphasized there was no way she would have left the intermediate district without giving the board time to find a replacement for her. So she offered to retire for one month as required under the state pension plan and then come back for a few months until a new superintendent was hired.

However, the Oakland Schools Board of Education had a different idea and they made a request of their own: Retire, but come back to work.

"We have requested, and Dr. Markavitch has agreed, that while she will retire at the end of May, she will return to Oakland Schools in July for a maximum of three more years," Storing said.

But if a new superintendent is found, the board has only to give Markavitch 90 days' notice.

"This time for succession is very important because at the same time I decided on my retirement, Dr. (Tresa) Zumsteg decided on her own," Markavitch said in her letter. "She has decided to retire on July 30, 2010, and does not want the one-year extension I offered to her. Fortunately, Tresa is willing to be acting superintendent for Oakland Schools from May 29 through June 30," while Markavitch is in her required one-month retirement.

"I think you will find this plan to be pretty seamless in terms of service to you and your districts," Markavitch said in her letter to superintendents.

It is unlikely that the board will start a search anytime soon for a new superintendent when Markavitch is leading Oakland Schools through the process of downsizing from 600 to 400 employees, said Shelley Yorke Rose, district spokeswoman.

"The board really felt strongly that they wanted consistency in leadership at a time when they just laid off 105 people and now have to reorganized around the work load," Rose said.

In addition, "we have 140 people here eligible for retirement. How many will take it I don't know. I am hearing estimates 30 to 40 percent are expected to take it," Rose said.

Storing said, "While we benefit from her continued leadership and experience, we will also save about $75,000 per year in wages and benefits as Dr. Markavitch works under a reduced employment contract."

Markavitch's pay will be reduced by about $25,298 to an estimated $186,885. In addition, the district will no longer have to pay her state pension plan of $45,000 annually or her health insurance. She is on Medicare. The cost of her annuity will go down from $28,000 to $26,280 annually.

Markavitch started at Oakland Schools six years ago with a salary if $196,000, with a $28,000 annuity and other benefits, which she said ranked at the bottom of the top quartile of Oakland County superintendents. Since then, new superintendents have come in and salaries have gone down.

"In Oakland County alone in the last five years, there has been a turnover of 24 of 28 superintendents," Rose said. "With the new retirement system, there is the possibility of more superintendents following suit. This loss of leadership comes when intermediate school districts are being asked to assume a greater role in helping to consolidate services and control costs by both the state and local districts."